The electrical characteristics of electronic components such as integrated circuits (ICs) are usually tested before said ICS are mounted on printed circuit boards or fitted in devices. In this process, the electronic components are generally passed to an automatic handling machine (“handler”) in component carriers which are particularly composed of aluminum plates and in which the components are held centered in precisely predetermined positions. The automatic handling machine has a handling apparatus with which the components are subsequently removed from the component carrier and passed to a testing device. Generally speaking, it is often necessary to precisely position the component in the component holder, since otherwise the many connection contacts of the component, which are designed to be very small and are close to one another, cannot be precisely applied to the corresponding connection contacts of the testing apparatus.
In order to laterally position the component within the component holder, it is known to provide a positioning frame on the component holder, the components coming to rest in said positioning frame when the component holder is placed onto the component carrier and the component is sucked up by means of a vacuum suction means. However, since the bodies of the components have specific dimensional tolerances, the size of the positioning frame generally has to be designed such that even the component with the largest permissible dimensions fit into the positioning frame. The majority of components therefore have a certain amount of lateral play within the positioning frame.
In order to be able to take this lateral play into account when passing the components to the testing device, it is also known to optically measure the components within the component holder immediately after they are removed from the component carrier, so that a corresponding position correction can be calculated and carried out, if necessary. However, the components are again laterally displaced within the positioning frame when they are subsequently transported to the testing device, with the result that the position of the component calculated during the optical measurement no longer corresponds to the actual position.
The exemplary illustrative non-limiting implementation provides a handling apparatus of the type mentioned in the introduction which has a positioning device which prevents lateral displacement of the components within the component holder in a simple and reliable manner.
In the case of the exemplary illustrative non-limiting handling apparatus, the positioning device has movable clamping elements which can be moved from an open position, in which they are at a distance from the side edges of the component, into a clamping position, in which they apply a pressure force, which prevents lateral movement of the component, to the side edges of the component.
The component, in one exemplary illustrative non-limiting implementation, is therefore clamped in the component holder in a non-positive manner by means of the positioning device, so that the component is held in the component holder without play and a subsequent lateral displacement of the component is reliably prevented. This ensures that the position assumed by the component in the component holder is exactly maintained after the component is taken out of the component carrier, up to the testing device and also even after the testing process, until the component is removed from the component holder. In this way, it is possible to pass the components to the corresponding connection contacts of the testing apparatus with a very high degree of precision, and satisfactory measurement results are ensured.
According to one exemplary illustrative non-limiting implementation, the positioning device has at least two clamping elements which act at right angles to one another and can be moved to bear with pressure against two adjacent side edges of the component. It is therefore fundamentally possible to provide two fixed side stops which are arranged at an angle of 90° in relation to one another and to allow two clamping elements, which apply the necessary pressure force to the component, to engage on the opposite side edges of the component. However, it is particularly advantageous when the positioning device has two pairs of opposite clamping elements which act at right angles to one another as in certain exemplary illustrative non-limiting implementations, so that the clamping elements apply a corresponding pressure force to the component from all four sides. This ensures insertion of the component into the accommodation space of the component holder without obstacles and without a relatively large lateral displacement of the component then being necessary.
A very cost-effective exemplary illustrative non-limiting implementation results when the clamping elements are prestressed in their clamping position by means of springs which produce the required clamping force. This therefore involves “passive” clamping of the components, that is to say no additional energy need be expended to move the clamping elements in the desired manner. However, it is also possible to move the clamping elements between the open and clamping positions “actively”, that is to say by supplying external energy.
According to an exemplary illustrative non-limiting implementation, the clamping elements comprise pivotable L-shaped pivot levers. This allows an arrangement and kinematics system to be implemented within the component holder in a very simple manner, in the case of which firstly a sufficiently large lateral clearance is created in the open position to be able to insert the component into the associated accommodation space of the component holder without obstacles, and secondly with which the component can be firmly clamped with the required force after the insertion process.
In another exemplary illustrative non-limiting implementation, each pair of opposite clamping elements has one clamping element which exerts a greater pressure force on the component than the opposite clamping element and interacts with a stop face which stops the movement of the clamping element in a predetermined position. This ensures that the component always assumes a defined setpoint position within the component holder in a simple manner, since the clamping elements with the greater pressure force are first always pivoted so far into their clamping position until they bear against the stop face, while the opposite clamping elements with the lower pressure force yield correspondingly far, but without giving up their pressing effect on the components.
In a further exemplary illustrative non-limiting implementation, the component holder has a stop face which can be moved to bear against the component carrier and serves to limit the advancing movement of said component holder in the direction of the component carrier. The clamping elements each have an operating protrusion which projects beyond the bearing face in the direction of the component carrier when the component holder is removed from the component carrier, and can be moved by the component carrier in the direction of the bearing face when the component holder is placed onto the component carrier, as a result of which the clamping elements are moved to their open position. In this case, the advancing movement of the component holder, that is to say the lowering of the component holder onto the component carrier, is therefore used to open the clamping elements, whereas the lifting movement of the component holder after the component is sucked up is used to release the clamping elements so that the prestressing force of the springs or other force-generating elements can move the clamping elements in the direction of their clamping closed position.